Chapter 114
Leopold turned around and looked at Alicia. "Lucinda didn't do this."
Alicia's face turned livid. "If not her, then who? She dared to have someone tamper with things right under our noses. Who knows what outrageous things she's doing behind our backs!"
Sophia said through tears, "Leo, even at this point, you still don't believe me. Do the baby, and I have to actually get hurt before you'll believe us?"
I had no idea what Leopold wanted me to see.
But facing Alicia and Sophia's attacks, I could barely breathe. Their words were like shackles crushing my chest.
If I stayed any longer, I'd suffocate.
"Leopold, enough."
"I saw what you wanted me to see."
"I don't want to fight with you anymore. I don't want any part of whatever's between you and Sophia. Just let me go."
Leopold looked at me in disbelief, opening his mouth to say something.
But I didn't want to hear it anymore. I turned and walked out.
When I reached the hallway, I could still hear noise from the room. But I didn't stop.
I couldn't understand what Leopold was trying to do. He'd clearly taken Sophia back to his bedroom that night, yet he refused to acknowledge Sophia's baby as his. Instead, he kept dragging me into this mess, letting Alicia humiliate and blame me over and over.
Downstairs, I spotted Teddy waiting by the car. When he saw me, he quickly opened the door.
"Ms. Wipere, Mr. Percy asked me to drive you home."
I refused immediately. "No need. I'll get an Uber."
"I can't let you do that. If you go back on your own, Mr. Percy will dock my pay." Teddy looked distressed.
I hesitated for a few seconds, then finally got in the car.
I didn't say a word during the ride.
Only when I realized we weren't heading to Bayview Villas did I speak up.
"Take me to my place."
Teddy turned to explain. "Mr. Percy didn't say anything about taking you home. Please bear with me."
I scoffed. "I'm not his kept woman. What gives him the right to make decisions for me?"
Teddy fell silent.
I knew he was just following orders. Taking it out on him wouldn't help, so I swallowed my anger.
When the car stopped at Leopold's villa, I opened the door and got out.
"Ms. Wipere."
Teddy suddenly called out.
"Please don't be angry. Mr. Percy just wants to protect you."
I tilted my head slightly. "Did he tell you to say that?"
He knew I didn't belong here anymore, yet he was still keeping me prisoner. What kind of protection was that?
"No. There have been some unfavorable rumors about you online recently. Mr. Percy was worried it wasn't safe for you to stay at your place, so he asked me to bring you back here."
I'd been too preoccupied lately to go online and had no idea about any of this.
I turned around. "What are they saying about me online?"
Teddy avoided my gaze and didn't answer.
Knowing I wouldn't get an answer, I suddenly remembered my phone and asked him about it.
"Where's my phone?"
Teddy glanced at me, hesitating. "Mr. Percy has it."
So I wasn't getting it back anytime soon.
"Got it. You can go."
I turned and went back inside.
When I pulled out my phone and searched for my name, nothing came up except my first-place win in the international ballet competition.
Obviously, everything had been scrubbed.
The more this happened, the less I understood what Leopold was thinking. Before, he'd doted on Sophia indulgently, willing to give her anything. How much time had passed? And now Sophia had already lost her appeal?
Were men just naturally fickle?
I sank deep into the sofa. Exhaustion seeped from my very bones.
Just then, my phone rang.
It was Ethan.
"Cindy, are you okay? Did Leopold give you trouble?"
The moment I answered, his worried voice came through.
I rallied my spirits. "I'm fine. He didn't give me trouble. What about you, Ethan? Did your fever break?"
"I just got an injection. I'm alright now. As long as you're okay. I was afraid Leopold would make things difficult for you. Do you want to leave earlier?"
In the past, I would've agreed without hesitation.
But now I hesitated.
First, I was afraid of dragging him down further.
Second, I had doubts.
I'd only told my parents and Donovan about leaving with him. None of them would've told Leopold.
So how did he know?
And he'd known from early on that Ethan and I were planning to leave. He even knew I'd worked with Sophia. My parents didn't know any of this.
And there was that strange doctor I'd seen at the hospital. His build had been very similar to Ethan's.
Combined with what Leopold had said before, I couldn't help but be suspicious.
"Ethan, who else knows about our plans to leave besides us?"
Ethan said, "No one. I haven't told anyone."
"But Leopold knows everything. He knows I worked with Sophia and that I've been secretly sending you messages. And..." I paused before continuing. "He keeps suspecting something's going on between us. Says I'm planning to run away with you. He doesn't trust easily, so either it happened before, or someone told him."
"Cindy, I swear I haven't told Leopold a single word."
"Did you come to the hospital yesterday?" I pressed immediately.
Ethan fell silent.
Sometimes, silence itself was an answer.
I continued. "What were you doing at the hospital? Did you have someone tamper with Leopold's paternity test?"
Ethan said heavily, "I came, and I did think about altering the report, but it didn't work out."
I closed my eyes, forcing down the sharp pain in my chest.
It really was him.
"Why didn't you discuss it with me first before doing this?"
"I'm sorry, Cindy. I was afraid you'd change your mind at the last minute, afraid you'd stay here and let Leopold keep humiliating you. That's why I came up with the idea."
I sighed silently. "But doing this didn't help me. It exposed our plans and made things worse for me."
"I let my concern cloud my judgment. I didn't think it through and ended up dragging you down. I'm sorry, Cindy. Can you give me another chance?" Ethan's tone was earnest.
I opened my eyes, but my gaze wouldn't focus.
When it came down to it, Sophia wasn't really wrong about me.
The baby had almost been harmed because of me.
"Ethan, our plan's off. Leave Silverlight City now. Don't delay any longer."
"Cindy, you're not leaving?" Ethan sounded panicked.
"I will, but not now."
I'd leave once he was safely gone. Otherwise, with Leopold's volatile mood right now, I had no idea what crazy things he might do.
That evening, Leopold didn't come back but arranged for two personal bodyguards to stay with me.
I knew he was putting me under watch again.
I was figuring out how to leave when suddenly there was noise at the villa's entrance.
Before the bodyguards could check, over a dozen men in black burst through the door, engaging my bodyguards.
The next second, Alicia walked in through the entrance.
She didn't even bother speaking to me, just gave an order.
"Take her away."